Practice Areas

First Ever Extradition on Antitrust Charge Announced in Marine Hose Case

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report

The Department of Justice announced April 4 that an Italian national has been extradited to the U.S. from Germany on a charge of participating in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids, fixing prices and allocating market shares for sales of marine hose sold in the United States and elsewhere. According to a DOJ press release, this marks the first successfully litigated extradition on an antitrust charge.

The individual, who has been charged with violating the Sherman Act by participating in the conspiracy from at least 1999 until at least November 2006, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a criminal fine of $1 million or twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, whichever is greater. The press release notes that five companies and nine individuals have pleaded guilty thus far as a result of the DOJ’s ongoing antitrust investigation of marine hose.